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If you're woefully under-prepared enough to show up to Tei Tei Robata on a Saturday night with no reservation, all is not lost. The friendly host will seat you in the bar, where you're free to order from a smaller bar menu while waiting for a possible table. The cozy, romantic Japanese restaurant may not have an excess of tables, but it does have bar seating, where we found ourselves recently poring over the truncated menu.

It didn't take long to home in on something curious: the $7 Enoki Parcel, a grilled pouch of enoki mushrooms slathered in truffle butter.

The parcel arrives at our table hot to the touch, and when it's opened, a woodsy, buttery, rich smell floats from the wispy white mushrooms. We eagerly picked the bunch of mushrooms apart, marveling at the parcel's ability to create what often tasted like a sylvan variation of truffle buttered popcorn. As snacks go, it's hard to beat this little treat. Split a bottle of sake and, by the time the host pops around to lead you to an open table, you'll have forgotten you ever wanted to be anywhere else.

Beth Rankin is an Ohio native and Cicerone-certified beer server who specializes in social media, food and drink, travel and news reporting. Her belief system revolves around the significance of Topo Chico, the refusal to eat crawfish out of season and the importance of local and regional foodways.